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<br />to a much larger ongoing project encompassing the entire Colorado River basin in Utah that <br />included many additional objectives. These additional objectives are not addressed in this report. <br />METHODS <br />Study Area <br /> <br />Westwater Canyon is located on the Colorado River downstream of the CO-UT border. The length <br />of the canyon extends approximately twelve miles (RM 124.5-112.5). It is characterized by the <br />black Proterozoic gneiss and granite complex that comprise the inner gorge. The habitat in the upper <br />section of the canyon consists of runs, eddies, and pools interspersed between riffles and rapids. The <br />~ steepest part of Westwater Canyon is the middle section (RM 119.5-116.5). This portion of the <br />canyon was not sampled due to the turbulent flows and Class III rapids. However, U.S. Fish and <br />Wildlife Service sampled the middle section of Westwater Canyon during 1979-1981 and humpback <br />chub were present (Valdez et al. 1982). The lower section of Westwater Canyon is a confined <br />canyon reach with a reduced gradient that primarily comprises a homogeneous run where chubs are <br />scarce (Chart and Lentsch 1999). <br />Humpback chub sampling occurred at three sites in the upper portion of Westwater Canyon <br />previously established for the Interagency Standardized Monitoring Program (ISMP): Miners Cabin <br />(RM 124.1-123.8), Cougar Bar (RM 121.5-121.0), and Hades Bar (RM 120.0-119.8). Depth <br />measurements collected in 1994 for each of these sites resulted in maximum depths of 21.8 m at <br />~ Miners Cabin, 19.5 m at Cougar Bar, and 10.6 m at Hades Bar (Chart and Lentsch 1999). Each of <br />these deep canyon habitats is bounded by a riffle area. <br />Sampling <br />A Humpback chub sampling in Westwater Canyon occurred during September and October <br />throughout the three years of the study. Three sampling passes were conducted each year. Eight days <br />lapsed between the end of one pass and the beginning of the subsequent pass. During each pass, <br />Miners Cabin was sampled for two nights, Cougar Bar was sampled for two nights and Hades Bar <br />was sampled for one night. Gear included the use of trammel nets (23 m x 2 m; 2.5 cm and 1.25 cm <br />~ mesh) and a pulsed DC Coffelt® electrofishing unit mounted on an inflatable sport boat. <br />Trammel nets were set in mid-afternoon and checked every two hours until midnight, at which time <br />they were pulled. Nets were reset before dawn and allowed to fish until late morning while being <br />checked every two hours. Trammel nets were set to target juvenile and adult chubs. Trammel nets <br />were primarily set in deep eddies off boulders or rock faces. Nets were occasionally set in relatively <br />~ shallow riffle/run areas off in-channel boulders. All Gila spp. caught were removed from the net and <br />placed in a holding pen until they were processed at the end of each 18-hour sampling period. <br />Electrofishing was conducted at each site during a single pass each year to continue the protocol <br />established with ISMP (USFWS 1987). Shoreline habitats were electrofished within each site. <br />~ Electrofishing efforts occurred prior to nets being set in late afternoon and subsequent to nets being <br />pulled at night during each 18-hour sampling period. Electrofishing was conducted to monitor the <br />fish community of Westwater Canyon and to target smaller Gila spp. in addition to the late <br />2 <br />